President Donald Trump’s chest-thumping ultimatum against Iran just backfired.
On Saturday evening, Trump threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if the country did not end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.
Tehran’s answer came sooner—but it wasn’t the response Trump had hoped for.
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned Sunday that Iran would “irreversibly” destroy critical infrastructure of its neighbors in the Middle East, including energy and oil facilities, should Trump follow through on his threat to hit the country’s electricity grid.
Qalibaf said such an attack would keep the price of oil elevated for the long haul.
Trump is already scrambling to contain the economic consequences from the war he started more than three weeks ago. Gas prices in the U.S. have spiked roughly 30 percent as Iran has blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that transports up to a fifth of global oil supplies.
Trump issued his ultimatum to compel Iran to back down from the strait—but his threats had the opposite effect.
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